"Don Talk"

by Christopher Suarez - Copy Editor

Tue, Apr 3rd 2018 10:00 pm

In an era full of “mumble rap,” it is refreshing to know that there are still rappers out there who keep rap alive. The Bronx rapper Don Q has been dropping music now for over three years. He has been under the shadow of his High Bridge label partner, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie. A Boogie went mainstream in 2017 when he dropped the album “The Bigger Artist.” This pushed him to the top 50 and people were not giving Don Q the respect and attention he deserves. But for real rap fans, Don Q never died out.

In 2016, Don Q released his first solo album called “Don Season.” This album was only available on Spinrilla and never reached mainstream success. But things changed for the High Bridge rapper in 2017. He released his second album “Corner Stories” and at first, it was only available through Spinrilla. Don Q then released “Corner Stories Remastered” and this time it reached mainstream success. The album became available on most major platforms such as Apple Music, iTunes and Spotify.

He then took almost a year off, but now Don Q is back to show the world that rap is still alive. On March 23, he released his third studio album “Don Talk.” The only eight song album includes the notable aggressive trap sound that he is known for. He starts off the album with the song “Rap Memorial.” This, in my opinion, is the perfect song to start with because it shows he still thinks he is the best rapper. With bars like “how many rappers will make it alive if I go on a hunt,” from “Memorial,” shows that it is him versus everybody else.

The song that stood out to me was the fifth song, “Personal.” For anybody that follows Don Q, this song will totally surprise you. This is a side of him that people usually do not see. The song incorporates a smooth R&B beat with a Drake-type of flow. I say Drake because he is one of the only rappers who can rap normally about love and breakup and switch the chorus from rap to singing.

When picturing Don Q, I do not picture him singing at all. I see a hard rapper who will never sing about a woman, but here he does. In the beginning of the song, he talks about leaving a woman because of how toxic she is. He goes on to tell her “don’t take it too personal, I told you the truth even though it hurts to know, but everybody has been hurt before.” The soft vocals and lyrics make it my favorite song on the album.

The album as a whole is really short in my opinion, but each song holds weight. Every song tells a different story which makes up for the lack of length.

Overall, Don Q did not disappoint. He stayed true to himself, and his music brings you back to the hard-hitting raps of the late 90s, early 2000s, with a mix of modern rap. If you are a fan of gritty and aggressive New York City rap, Don Q is the rapper for you.